Conduits for conveying a large variety of substances are well known. Such conduits can include pipes and tubing for conveying liquids such as water, or gases such as oxygen. Other conduits, such as chutes, are most suitable for conveying solid materials. Traditionally conduits come in two forms: rigid or flexible. Rigid conduits include gas and water pipes, chutes, and ducts. Flexible conduits include tubing and hoses. All such conduits serve the purpose of conveying substances by flow of the substance through the interior of the conduit.
Traditionally, conduits have been connected with a large variety of connectors. Many varieties of pipe fittings, tubing connectors, nozzles, and clamps are well known in the art. One disadvantage of traditional connectors is the significant amount of time required to perform the connection. Pipe fittings, for example, require the tightening and loosening of nuts, washers, valves, and rings for connection and disconnection. Tubing connectors often involve forcibly inserting fittings and tightening and loosening of clamps. Thus, a need exists for a connector assembly which allows for the rapid connection and disconnection of conduits. Another disadvantage of traditional connectors is the lack of interchangeability of such connectors. Traditional connectors are sized to work only with particular dimensions and configurations of conduits, requiring a large variety of connectors to be manufactured. This needlessly increases inventory, costs of manufacture, and waste materials. Furthermore, traditional connectors have provided poor results in connecting conduits of differing materials, such as rigid pipe and flexible tubing. Thus, a need exists for a connector assembly that provides interchangeability between connection of various conduits.
The connector assembly of the present invention is provided to solve these and other problems.